


Rescue

by rmc28



Category: Daughters of Mannerling - M.C. Beaton, The Grand Sophy - Georgette Heyer
Genre: Evil Stately Home, Friendship is not required for a rescue, Gen, Sophy is relentless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 07:24:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13049289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rmc28/pseuds/rmc28
Summary: Sophy Rivenhall and Eugenia Bromford are on just good enough terms to avoid any unseemly gossip.  So when Eugenia writes to Sophy begging her to join a house party at the beautiful Mannerling estate, Sophy and Charles know something is wrong.





	Rescue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thisbluespirit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisbluespirit/gifts).



> With enormous thanks to molybdomantic for beta-ing.

The Honourable Charles Rivenhall was interrupted from his morning's habitual perusal of the newspaper by the entrance of his wife to the library.

"Charles, my dear, did you receive an invitation from Lady Beverley for a house party at Mannerling?" asked his beloved Sophy.

Charles grimaced. "I did, but I had intended to send a polite refusal." He looked at Sophy, holding a letter of her own in her hand, and recognised the signs of Sophy About To Change His Plans. "I collect you would prefer me to accept? Please tell me you have better reasons than developing a taste for being condescended to!"

"Charles, I am hurt that you could even consider such a thing!" cried Sophy. "No, it is merely that I have a letter here from Lady Bromford, urging us to join them at the house party."

"Eugenia?" exclaimed Charles. "Surely not!"

"Well, indeed Charles, it is most unusual. And more, if it is not my imagination, she seems to be asking for my help!"

Three years since, the sudden cancellation of Mr Charles Rivenhall's engagement to Miss Eugenia Wraxton mere weeks before the wedding had caused a little stir in Society. That it was closely followed by the announcements of Charles's engagement to his cousin Miss Sophia Stanton-Lacy, and Miss Wraxton's to Lord Bromford, formerly one of Miss Stanton-Lacy's most devoted admirers, might have been expected to lead to a deal of unwelcome speculation. But even the most ardent gossipmongers of the Upper Ten Thousand could not detect any breach between the households. Sophy was not a diplomat's daughter for nothing, and both couples were seen unexceptionally driving or walking in the park together, making up a theatre party, or greeting each other cordially at balls or parties where they were all invited as a matter of course. 

If their public manners were entirely conventional and unexciting, the private visits between Berkeley Square and Brook Street had fallen off entirely, to the satisfaction of all.

"Asking for your help?" enquired Charles.

"Yes, it is the strangest thing, but how else should I interpret this, Charles?" asked Sophy and went on to read her letter aloud.

" _My dear Mrs Rivenhall,_

_I collect that Lady Beverley, surely the kindest of hostesses to Bromford and I, has invited you and Mr Rivenhall to join her summer house party. It has been all too long since we last spent any time together. Mannerling is truly a peerlessly beautiful place, and far exceeds even the peaceful delights of Merton, where we spent such a memorable afternoon with Lady Talgarth._

_Please do urge Mr Rivenhall to accept Lady Beverley's invitation, and I look forward to the pleasure of your company as soon as you are able._

_Yours, Lady Bromford_ "

 

"Merton?" repeated Charles in a questioning tone, looking thoughtful.

"Well certainly that was more beautiful - if not more memorable - than our afternoon together at Ashstead," replied his wife. "And indeed I have heard that Mannerling is uncommonly beautiful. But more to the point, Merton is where Hubert ..."

"Locked her in the bluebell wood with the poet, and you and I together freed her," interrupted Charles. "If this were a novel, I would say she was covertly asking for a rescue."

"So I thought," agreed Sophy. "But I cannot imagine what she needs rescuing from. She and Bromford have always seemed to suit each other well, and while Lady Beverley is a terrible bore, I cannot imagine her malicious. I think we must go and find out," she said decisively.

Charles smiled ruefully. "Is there any point in my protesting, dearest?"

"None whatsoever, of course," she replied, smiling at him roguishly, and a short interlude passed before Mrs Rivenhall was once again ready to depart the library. 

....

 

Sophy's large acquaintance among military men had impressed upon her the importance of gathering intelligence. She therefore began her morning calls with a visit to her sister-in-law Cecilia. After the women had greeted each other and caught up on the most urgent exchange of news, Sophy mentioned that she and Charles were thinking of going to Mannerling. "Isn't your friend Lizzie one of Lady Beverley's daughters?" inquired Sophy artlessly.

Cecilia pulled a face. "Lizzie is a delight and I am so glad that Charlbury's old friendship with the Duke of Severnshire has introduced us. But her mother!" 

"Oh yes, she is the most terrible bore, but I hear that Mannerling really is as beautiful as she claims, and it seems a pity to waste the opportunity of seeing it."

Cecilia frowned somewhat. "Lizzie doesn't like the place at all, and she and Severnshire never go there. She doesn't like to talk about it. I think I heard her say something to Severnshire once about it being haunted by an evil spirit, but surely that cannot be true?" Cecilia's gentle face looked worried.

Sophy said cheerfully "Well, I have never seen a spirit, evil or otherwise, even in places where the local people swore up and down they were haunted. There was one villa in Spain during the War, but ..." she said, catching herself as Cecilia began to look truly concerned, "nothing of moment happened there and I will be such a bore if I start on old tales now. Tell me more of my nephew," she entreated, and Cecilia was happy to be diverted onto one of her favourite topics.

After departing from Cecilia, Sophy thoughtfully directed her phaeton towards a less fashionable part of Town, where she would find the residence of Lady Letitia Revine and her companion Barry Wort. Sophy and Charles had met them on the Continent during their wedding journey, and Sophy had thoroughly enjoyed their company, and maintained the acquaintance once they were all back in England. Society might consider Lady Letitia's continued liaison with a former odd man scandalous, but the Revine family was well-enough connected that Sophy was far from the only member of the _ton_ to stay on friendly terms with her. Sophy's faithful groom, John Potton, got on very well with Barry, so as they drew up outside the house, Sophy asked him to find out what he could about Mannerling from Barry, while she sat with Lady Letitia.

Lady Letitia had masqueraded as a governess by the name of Miss Trumble to all six of the Beverley sisters after they had been forced to leave Mannerling. Sophy said in her frank way "You know Mannerling, I know! Charles and I have been invited to a house party there, but Cecilia tells me Lizzie thinks it is haunted. I have never seen a haunted house before."

Lady Letitia looked grave. "I am not entirely sure Lizzie is wrong. There is something about that house. It seems to bring out the very worst in some people, and make them think of nothing but Mannerling. There have been some unpleasant incidents. Perhaps it was my imagination, but sometimes I felt that the house itself disliked me and resented my influence over the girls. I am glad to have seen them all well-married and well away from it."

Sophy smiled and said "Well, I have never had much imagination, so perhaps I will not notice a thing. Thank you for warning me though; I shall be on the alert for Charles becoming autocratic again."

Lady Letitia continued to look seriously at her. "If that happens, my dear, you must ensure you leave at once." Seeing Sophy's surprise, she said "No, I am quite serious Sophy, the only cure for my girls and ... others similarly affected was to get quite away from the place, and to give up all plans to live there. Of those that could not, well, there were a number of unhappy endings." She saw that Sophy did not quite believe her, and changed the subject.

On the way home, Sophy asked John what he had learned from Barry about Mannerling. Very little, it turned out, except that Barry considered himself glad to be well away from the place, and would rather not speak of it.

 

****

The afternoon was fine and sunny as the Rivenhall carriage passed through Mannerling's tall iron gates into the long drive to the house. Sophy looked eagerly out of the windows for her first glimpse of the house, and as its stately beauty was revealed she commented aloud "Well! It truly is as beautiful as report has it."

"Let us hope it is not as haunted too," said Charles, teasingly. Sophy had shared her intelligence with him, and was not surprised when he found the idea of an evil spirit in the house preposterous. Sophy was inclined to agree, but then Lady Letitia had looked so very grave and spoken so very seriously, that she could not dismiss her warning entirely.

Their carriage drew up to find Lady Beverley and her companion Mary Judd ready on the steps to meet them. Lady Beverley was as snobbish and condescending as ever; her residence in Mannerling might have been only by the generosity of her son-in-law, but one would never have guessed it from her manner. The Rivenhalls endured their greeting with entirely correct manners, and made their escape to their room as soon as possible.

"Sophy my dearest, even for you I do not want to stay here with that woman any longer than necessary!" said Charles as soon as they were private. "Please be your usual terrifying self and find out if Eugenia needs rescue and how we are to do it as soon as possible".

Sophy merely smiled and kissed him in apology. After the pleasant interlude this generated, Sophy wandered to the nearest window and looked out on the grounds. They were indeed very lovely, and her eye was drawn to the folly looking down on the lake, before returning to the formal gardens. "I think I see Lady Bromford in the formal gardens," she said over her shoulder to her spouse. I shall go down and find her. Though I long to take a walk up to that folly and see the view from it."

"Perhaps this evening or tomorrow we could do so," replied Charles.

"Indeed. Well, while I find Lady Bromford, do you feel equal to finding her husband and gathering me more intelligence there?"

"Hardly!" said Charles. Sophy quirked an eyebrow at him. "But for you I will try anyway," he returned and they went down the stairs together in harmony. The enormous chandelier that hung over the Great Hall glittered in the light coming through the windows. Charles felt a sudden admiration for its beauty, and a sense of welcome in the house. 

"Is this not a splendid chandelier, my dear?" he said suddenly. Sophy looked surprisedly at him.

"Certainly it is just as impressive as when we first saw it on the way in. Though it is so large that it must be a deal of trouble to keep clean, and I find myself wanting to check the security of its hanging wires before walking under it."

Charles felt oddly dissatisfied with her answer. "Always so practical, Sophy!" he said, and she smiled back happily at him and said "Well, I have never pretended to be otherwise, Charles." He remembered suddenly how much he loved her and the odd mood left him.

At the bottom of the stairs they parted, Sophy out into the gardens, and Charles following the direction of a footman to the billiard room where he might find Lord Bromford.

 

****

 

Sophy found Lady Bromford sitting alone on a bench in the rose garden. Her posture was all that was proper, a parasol protected her complexion from the sun, and she was dressed in a sober, neat fashion that nevertheless flattered her more than her gowns had done when her mother had been ordering the making of them. Her long, somewhat horselike, face was paler than Sophy had remembered, and she looked distantly, almost sadly, over the beautiful gardens. 

"Mrs Rivenhall," she said coolly in response to Sophy's greeting. "I am so glad you are here."

"Are you really?" asked Sophy plainly, having established no-one else was within earshot. "I was never more astonished than to receive your letter." To her utter surprise, Lady Bromford flushed suddenly, and looked actually remorseful. 

"I am well aware that I have not always ... appreciated your virtues, Mrs Rivenhall," she said slowly but determinedly. "I am truly sorry for the ... ill-will I have borne you in the past, and I am very aware that without your ... actions, I would never have been able to marry my dear Bromford." She broke off suddenly, then, gathering a breath said "Will you walk with me please? These gardens are very beautiful." She turned and suited action to words, eyes averted from Sophy.

Considerably astonished, Sophy walked next to her. "Well, I did always think the two of you would suit very well, and I am glad to have been of service to you. But are you feeling quite well?" Lady Bromford's flush had mostly receded and she was again very pale apart from a high spot on each cheek.

"I am well enough, thank you. I find walking in the gardens most efficacious to my health, and Bromford," again her breath hitched, "encourages it. He is very knowledgeable on the benefits of walking regularly."

"I am sure he will enlighten us all on the topic later," said Sophy cheerfully. "But indeed, Lady Bromford, perhaps I am overstepping, but I had the impression from your letter you are in some kind of difficulty." She observed the flush rising in Lady Bromford's cheeks again, and waited a few moments, in case of a response. When none came, she continued gently "Of course it was a surprise that you should ask me of all people for help, but can you doubt that Charles and I are here because we are willing to offer it?" To her continued surprise, she detected tears welling in the eyes of her companion.

"You are very kind," said Lady Bromford, with only the slightest of tremors in her voice. "Perhaps it is all the imaginings of a foolish woman, and you will think even less of me than you did before." She lifted her chin on that last, and Sophy reflected that Lady Bromford had always been observant and had surely known in what regard she was held by the Rivenhalls.

"Go on," she said gently.

"I am a rational woman who does not believe in ungodly superstition," said Lady Bromford precisely. "But this place ... it has _changed_ my dear Bromford." She cast a quick glance at Sophy, walking steadily with her through the gardens, and keeping a calm, open expression. "We came on a short visit in the spring, and since then he has talked of nothing else but Mannerling. It is painful to criticise my husband," - looking at her, Sophy felt she was being plainly truthful - "but he hung out in an almost shameless manner for an invitation to this house party, and we have arrived early and he makes no suggestion of plans to leave. Lady Beverley is all that is kind, and she and her companion seem happy to have him here as long as he wishes."

"And are they equally happy to have you?" asked Sophy quietly.

"Oh! They are entirely correct towards me," replied Lady Bromford. "Much as you are, my dear Mrs Rivenhall," she added with a brief sharp smile.

"I see," said Sophy, returning a similar sharp smile.

"He is neglecting his duties in the Lords, and to his own estate," said Lady Bromford, quickly as though to get a painful task over with. "I would not have imagined it possible he should neglect either, and yet he is."

"It is most unlike him, indeed," agreed Sophy. Although she had teased Bromford about taking his seat when they first met, he had indeed proved to be a diligent holder of his office, and had built a reputation for thorough and well-phrased speeches. "But none of this sounds like foolish imaginings," she added.

By now they had made a complete circuit of the rose gardens and Sophy followed Lady Bromford's lead in beginning to cross the lawn back to the house, where a few others of the party could be seen in chairs near the doors. Lady Bromford took a deep breath, as though steeling herself.

"Sometimes I think ... the house dislikes me. It feels angry and unwelcoming." Some effect of the light made the nearing house loom suddenly, almost menacingly, over the women walking towards it. "I hate it, and I want to leave," said Lady Bromford, low and intense. "But Bromford will not hear of it, and I am afraid." She paused, drew a breath, spoke again. "I am afraid he will never leave and something terrible will happen to me here."

Impulsively, Sophy reached out to take Lady Bromford's arm and after a brief stiffening, the other woman allowed it. They continued in silence, Lady Bromford setting a route that led them away from the crowd on the lawn .

"And so, Mrs Rivenhall, I recalled the one person who had been able to shake my dear Bromford from a path on which he was set, and wrote to you. I would greatly appreciate you doing your best to recall him to his duty."

Sophy could not return a frank answer to this, as they would soon be in earshot of the footman by the entry to the house. Instead she suggested they go to the drawing room to recover from their walk, to which Lady Bromford colourlessly agreed. Their route took them necessarily through the Great Hall and under the vast chandelier. As they passed under it, the chandelier began to turn slowly, chiming quietly as it did. Sophy, startled, said "Surely that is not safe!". Beside her, Lady Bromford turned quite white, and briefly displayed a look of terror before managing to resume her usual well-bred expression.

"I think you are not well, Lady Bromford," said Sophy firmly. "Let me take you to your room, and I will have my maid Jane brew you a restoring posset. Perhaps we have had too much sun." Her concern was not diminished by Lady Bromford's lack of protest at these plans.

 

****

 

By the time Sophy had finished seeing Lady Bromford to her room, and commending her to Jane Storridge's care - "She was my nurse before she was my maid, you can have the strongest confidence in her, Lady Bromford" - it was nearly time to change for dinner, country hours being kept at Mannerling. Jane protested that she could not be in two places at once, and Sophy said simply that Charles was capable of doing up some buttons, and Lady Bromford was clearly in greater need. As that lady remained pale and shaken and barely capable of words, Jane conceded the point.

Sophy walked back to her room, and was delighted to find Charles returned just ahead of her. "I hope your intelligence-gathering was more useful than mine, dearest," he said after a brief embrace. "Bromford is as long-winded as ever but has only one topic these days. He becomes as tedious as Lady Beverley. To think I could have ever wished for him _not_ to prose on about Eugenia's manifold virtues! Can we leave yet?"

"Not quite yet, I think," replied his unrepentant wife. "I had a most interesting conversation with Lady Bromford, but she has become unwell and I have sent Jane to take care of her."

Charles grinned suddenly and boyishly. "Meaning I am to take care of your dressing in her absence?" he enquired. Sophy smiled back. 

"So long as you waste no time; we cannot be late on our first evening here. What a poor impression we should make." Before long, both Rivenhalls were neatly attired and descending the stairs together. Sophy noticed that the chandelier had stilled again. Charles cast it another admiring glance but said nothing.

In the drawing room before dinner, Sophy correctly greeted her hostess, but then immediately turned to Lord Bromford to enquire if his lady was recovering from her indisposition. He replied briefly that Mrs Rivenhall's maid seemed to have all in hand, and then resumed his conversation with Mary Judd. Sophy did not fail to note the suppressed air of triumph held by that lady, nor the pleased complacency on Lady Beverley's face as she watched the pair.

"Tell me, Lady Beverley," began Sophy, "Does the chandelier in the Great Hall move often? When Lady Bromford and I returned from this afternoon's walk it was slowly rotating. Is that safe?" 

Lady Beverley bristled at the implied criticism of her beloved Mannerling. "Of course it is safe, Mrs Rivenhall! It must sometimes catch a breeze or something, but it has never caused harm to anyone! Even that time it fell, it missed Severnshire completely."

Sophy exclaimed "It fell? And you put it back up again after such a disaster?" Lady Beverley drew herself up to her full height and stared intimidatingly down her nose at this outspoken young woman. 

"I am not aware that you are an expert in chandeliers, Mrs Rivenhall," she said, frostily. A shadow seemed to dim the light in the room temporarily.

"Oh of course not, my lady," said Sophy. "But it reminded me of a beautiful villa in Spain, which had been commandeered by guerrilleros after its owner had fled. It had a most elaborate chandelier - not on the same scale as this one here of course - but which took a great many candles. One night when the men were half-drunk in celebration of a recent victory over the French invaders, the cable failed and the chandelier crashed entirely to the ground. The candles in it began a fire, and by the time anyone realised, it was too late to put it out. They barely escaped with their lives and by morning the whole villa had burned to the ground. It was a terrible sight," finished Sophy sadly.

The light in the room returned to normal. Charles had a sudden sensation as of a weight being removed from his shoulders. Lady Beverley dismissed the story with "Oh well, no _Spanish_ villa could possible be compared with Mannerling, and I am sure our chandelier is far better fitted than any foreigner could manage."

Charles leaned close to Sophy and said in an undertone, "I have never seen a house threatened so well," and was rewarded with a brief and brilliant smile. The conversation returned to unexciting commentary on the beauty of Mannerling and in due course the party went in to dinner.

Sophy found herself seated beside Lord Bromford and her experience hosting political dinners was not wasted as she drew him into conversation about a number of Bills being considered for the next session of Parliament, and his opinions on them. 

"You have such a grasp of these important details," she said admiringly. "Really, I am so glad Lord Ombersley remains in good health, and Charles does not have to bother about these matters yet. I fear his talents lie elsewhere."

"It is always a pleasure to do one's duty to the Country," pronounced Bromford, with a faint frown on his face as he did so. "I am sure Mr Rivenhall will discover this when Time does eventually bring him into his father's place. I will of course be willing to provide him with the benefit of my experience, when, I will not say the _happy_ event, but rather the _inevitable_ event comes to pass."

Sophy nodded. "Quite so, my Lord. Indeed I am sure your help will be unparalled when that day comes." Lord Bromford beamed under her approving gaze, and continued to impart information about the traditions of the House of Lords until the next course arrived, and they each turned to the person on their other side.

When the ladies withdrew after the meal, Sophy excused herself on the grounds of checking on Lady Bromford. She found that lady asleep under the watchful gaze of Jane Storridge, and the lady's own dresser. Alert to any sign of disagreement between these two servants, Sophy found none, and swiftly departed to write a number of brief letters: to Lady Letitia, to the ever-reliable Dr Baillie, and to a number of Lord Bromford's allies in the Lords who had known her while she kept house for her father. These she sealed into the franks she'd had the forethought to have signed by her father-in-law before the Rivenhalls left London, and dispatched with a footman to get them under way as soon as possible.

The following day brought more beautiful weather, and a partial recovery on Lady Bromford's part. At first she refused even to leave her bed, but Sophy coaxed and wheedled her into a chair on the lawn, and from there Lord Bromford's lengthy advice about the importance of walking drove both women into another gentle walk through the rose garden. Charles's tolerance of either Bromford became visibly lower as the day progressed, culminating in him taking a boat out onto the lake below the house and exhausting himself rowing as fast as possible out and then back. For a moment on Charles's return, he fancied he saw a white face in the water as he stepped out of the rowing boat. Surely just a strange reflection, he thought to himself, and dismissed it.

Sophy continued to spend much of the day with the Bromfords, continuing to flatter Lord Bromford's political achievements, and carefully making sure he spent no time alone with either Mary Judd or Lady Beverley. Lady Bromford, far more experienced in flattering her husband, did as much as she could to follow Sophy's lead. At one point, when Sophy's prevention of a tete-a-tete between Mary Judd and Lord Bromford was especially blatant, another peculiar change in the light in the room led to Lady Bromford looking pale and shaken again. Sophy, observing this, "accidentally" knocked over a candle onto the tablecloth and made a great performance of putting out the resulting small fire. Lady Bromford's colour returned and there was no repeat of the strange light.

On the third day, Sophy received a letter from Lady Letitia describing in detail the fall of the chandelier that had narrowly missed Lizzie's husband, which confirmed her determination to avoid the Great Hall as far as possible. She also had the pleasure of seeing Lord Bromford receive at least two letters, and that faint, thoughtful frown returning as he read through them. He then rose and took his wife aside for a quiet-voiced discussion, the end result of which was his approach to Lady Beverley with an apologetic but firm apology and notice of his departure.

Charles, being by now thoroughly fed up with Mannerling and the company there, did not miss his cue. Before long, servants were packing up the rooms occupied by Bromfords and Rivenhalls, and two carriages were being made ready to depart. The two ladies took one last walk together through the beautiful rose garden.

"Please accept my thanks for your efforts on my behalf, Mrs Rivenhall," said Lady Bromford coolly. "I hope I have learned from your example sufficiently not to need to call on you again."

"I only had to find something he cared for more than this place," said Sophy seriously, then noting the brief stiffness on Lady Bromford's face, "and could not have while remaining here. I think however, you must make every effort to ensure neither of you returns." Lady Bromford nodded decisively. Sophy said mischievously "Or we can always hope that dratted chandelier does set fire to the place after all." Lady Bromford looked severe.

"Wanton destruction should never be wished for," she stated firmly, and the two women returned to the house, finding they had nothing left to say to one another until it was time to depart.

 

****

That evening, Charles and Sophy climbed to their rooms in a respectable travelling inn. 

"Dearest Sophy," said Charles, "Not only am I in awe of your ability to move the immovable Bromford, but I am especially grateful to you for ensuring his departure along an alternative trajectory to our own. Let us never visit Mannerling again." His wife nodded in emphatic agreement.

"I have always thought I had no imagination and no fear, but there is clearly _something_ about that house that is neither good nor natural. Burning it down seems excessive, but surely _something_ could be done. Perhaps I should consult with Lady Letitia once we are returned to London," she said, placing her chin on her hand to consider.

"Perhaps, my dearest, but for now I have felt quite neglected these past two days while you have been busily organising Bromfords. Do come here and consult with me on the best way to make it up," cajoled Charles. Sophy was delighted to comply with this suggestion.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you lost_spook for introducing me to Mannerling and its creepy ways. I rather feel it may not last much longer after this visit, but I haven't yet figured out quite how Sophy does it, so I am afraid I confined this story to her extraction of the Bromfords.


End file.
